open lives of dishonor and immorality, debauched all the young men with whom they came in contact,- nay, rather made a want of principle the first condition of appointment to any office. The income of a vast nation was entirely subject to the spoils system. The only alleviation to such a picture of corruption is that all society was pervaded by the old idea that a few persons were privileged by birth or power to appropriate the whole revenue of a kingdom to their own extravagances and vices.

And yet, in this new country, another form of government soon saw the old evils fastened upon it. The office-holders began to take the places of the aristocracies and their court favorites, to feel the same loose sense of honor in regard to the public treasury, and to believe that public positions were not to be determined by fitness, but by unscrupulous party fidelity. The same multiplication of sinecures, of pensioners upon public bounty, and of private immoralities increased by public extravagance, sent their shadow over our own political life. Fortunately, the experience of England in instituting a Civil Service Reform, after generations of official corruption, was right before us to warn us from the breakers; and not a few in public and private station were ready to enforce that experience. Political in its best sense as this issue is, it is also the great moral issue before this people. Mr. Dorman B. Eaton has done well to call attention, in his work of inestimable value, Civil Service in Great Britain, as well as in other writings of his which make him the chief authority upon the subject, to the fact that this question is of social and moral importance. We would emphasize its great moral significance to the clergy, and the great moral opportunity it opens to them. None is more nearly allied to the interests of religion, none more closely concerns the purity of our religious institutions. They can be indifferent to it only as they prefer a temporary prosperity resting upon utter worldliness and dishonor to a true and deepening church life. What a scandal it is to many a church, what a hindrance to the whole work of many a clergyman, to find some man, a pillar in his church, taking a great interest in all its affairs, most liberal perhaps in all its contributions, but known throughout the whole region as a politician of the lowest type, ready for bribery and intrigue, an associate with the most degraded characters, and ready to join them in any baseness, so only he has their votes! And, if some minister says he cannot afford to speak plainly in

the ears of so influential a parishioner, we insist that all the time the Church grows only the weaker, only a byword and reproach, until he does. All religion is thereby made ineffectual. The people look upon it all as a ritual and a mockery. The Christian teacher, by virtue of his office, is called upon to use every effort to see that the best qualified men are elected to public positions as much as that the safety, the peace, and the welfare of the community are advanced by good teachers, by honest business men, by ministers of proper preparations and upright lives. It is purely a question of good morals. It opens a number of subjects which are especially appropriate to the pulpit. Church and State may be legally separated, but they can never be morally independent. Their truest life is bound together, and religion cannot be pure and politics corrupt: they have a reciprocal influence, as lungs and air.

Rawlinson, in his recent History of Ancient Egypt, tells us that "in Egypt alone of all ancient States does a system seem to have been established, whereby persons of all ranks, even the lowest, were invited to compete for the royal favor, and by distinguishing themselves in the public schools to establish a claim for employment in the public service. That employment once obtained, their future depended on themselves. Merit secured promotion, and it would seem that the efficient scribe had only to show himself superior to his fellows, in order to rise to the highest position but one in the empire." That one exception does not exist with us. Through what long ages has this simple truth been making its way into the popular mind in regard to government! As the clergy are everywhere pre-eminently the defenders of the public schools, we would call upon them to be as foremost defenders of a Civil Service where merit alone secures appointment and promotion.

THE OAKES AMES MEMORIAL HALL. CAPITAL AND LABOR.

The seventeenth day of November witnessed a remarkable celebration in North Easton. The good people of that town and hundreds of others, including the Governor of the Commonwealth and many of the most honored and substantial citizens of the State and from beyond its borders, met to celebrate the dedication of a costly and beautiful building "erected to the memory of Oakes Ames by his children," and presented by them to the town. This event in itself was an interesting one. But under

neath all this, and showing itself in the tone which animated the speeches and gave an added dignity and solemnity to the occasion, was a deeper conviction that here, though not formally expressed, was the occasion to vindicate the honor, the magnanimity, the patriotism, and the genius of one whose good name had been unjustly and cruelly compromised by an act of our national House of Representatives, at a time of unseemly political excitement. It is not, however, our purpose to speak now of this matter. Our opinion of Mr. Oakes Ames in his connection with the Pacific Railroad and of the great wrong done to him in Congress was expressed in this journal at the time when public sentiment was strongest against him. We believed in him then, not from any personal knowledge, but from a careful study of the evidence on which he was condemned. It is a satisfaction to find the best men, after the partisan feelings of the hour have subsided, confirming our judgment, and doing full though tardy justice to a great public benefactor.

What we wish to say now is in a different vein. As we go from the railway station to the town hall in North Easton, we see marks of business prosperity and private comfort. But buildings for public advantage are the most prominent features in the landscape. These have all been furnished through the beneficence of one family, whose business activity and genius built up the material prosperity of the place. But material success alone did not satisfy the able, high-minded men who were at the head of the enterprise. They looked to the higher interests of society, and recognized the moral obligations which rest on men of wealth to provide for the intellectual, social, and spiritual wants of the people around them. A beautiful church, therefore, at a cost of a hundred thousand dollars, with a parsonage costing ten thousand dollars, and a fund of ten thousand dollars to keep church and parsonage in order, was given for the use of the Unitarian society. From the same source, funds were given to build a public library, furnish it with books, and provide for its running expenses; and the result of all this shows itself in one of the most beautiful and thoroughly furnished public buildings that we have

ever seen.

In these and other provisions for the public good, this one family have given not less than half a million dollars, appropriated in various ways to enlarge the minds, refine the taste, improve the morals, elevate the standard of Christian thought and worship, and add to the social enjoyments and privileges of the place.

If our rich men who are accumulating such vast fortunes would all be governed by a similar spirit, the increasing and in some respects portentous antagonism between capital and labor would have no ground to stand upon. Their place in society would be gladly acknowledged. They would be looked up to as public benefactors. The relation between the rich and the poor would be a beneficent one. Society would organize itself, with feelings of harmony and mutual good-will, around its natural leaders. A higher service everywhere recognized as the duty connected with higher privileges would help the world onward more effectually than it ever has been yet. North Easton and South Manchester are the two finest illustrations of this kind of enterprise that we have known. Men receiving everything and using their colossal fortunes only for their own selfish aggrandizement are, as far as their influence goes, building up a condition of society which must lead to social conflict and war, and end in moral anarchy and death. Property resting on nothing higher than itself for support will soon cease to exist.

J. H. M.

THINGS AT HOME AND ABROAD.

MEMORIES.

The departure of Dr. Thompson will be widely felt, not only among the ministers and friends of his own age, but also by a large circle of the young, who were attracted by his magnetic temperament, his affectionate spirit, and his warm religious emo

tion.

He has lived through a long period of usefulness, seen old generations go by and new ones come on, and lost no faith in the everlasting gospel which he has preached with all his heart and soul. He went with the authority and power of the Christian Church into the homes of the afflicted, and by his voice of sympathy brought peace to the sorrowing; and, without any intolerance or criticism of others, he held on to the eternal verities of our faith. In social life, he was always a welcome guest; and his courtesy and cordiality toward the younger ministers of our denomination will long be remembered by them.

He suffered of late years from bodily infirmities; but his mind seems to have preserved its freshness, and it is only a year or two since he furnished an article for this Review, which showed no falling off of his powers, but rather a ripening and enlarging of his moral and intellectual nature. Peace be to his memory and higher work above!

Dr. Newell has left us after a long life of quiet study, honorable work, and kindly deeds.

His position as a retired minister, of late, must not lead us to forget that he was for many years at the head of an influential church in a university town, representing Unitarianism at a time. when it needed all the graces of character, the fine culture, the amenities of polished life, and the moderation and wisdom of the true Christian, to keep it from sinking under the bitter prejudices which everywhere surrounded it.

Dr. Newell was the compeer of several distinguished men; and it is well known that, although not a preacher of startling originality, he maintained the dignity of his pulpit by a careful and judicious scholarship. And his sermons, in their gentle wisdom, thorough finish, and practical application, often reminded one of